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02-11-10, 09:16 AM
My city is host to Olympic speed skating and with it, Holland House.
The Dutch are supplying bikes for the public to use for free to get around during the games.
Holland Heineken House to be outfitted with bikes (http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/news/82839572.html)
http://images.travelpod.com/users/globeriders/globe_riders.1175495880.dscn0017.jpg
By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review
If Dutch beer and a selection of stamppot entrees weren’t enough, Holland Heineken House will offer visitors an even more authentic Netherlands experience.
Dutch National Railway is supplying 400 bicycles for tourists, locals and Dutch volunteers to borrow and use to tour Richmond’s sights.
“It’s for visitors who don’t have a car that want to check out Steveston for a day,” said city spokesperson Cynthia Lockrey. “Or if they want to go near the oval, they can take a bike.”
The bicycles are expected to be parked outside Holland Heineken House, which is setting up at Minoru Arenas inside the O Zone celebration site.
Lockrey said rentals will be free, but riders will be required to present identification. The city will also be providing tourists with Richmond maps.
Highlighting the promotion will be an eight-kilometre bike ride through Lulu Island Saturday, Feb. 6. Holland Heineken House staff will be joined by city staff and locals on the tour, which begins and ends at Gateway Theatre’s parking lot.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; bike ride begins at 10:45 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Those 16 and older with valid identification can register to use a Dutch bicycle by calling 604-276-4300.
“These bikes are from the Netherlands, so apparently for bike enthusiasts, it’s pretty cool to ride a European bike,” said Lockrey.
Children and others who wish to participate without registering are welcome to participate with their own bike and helmet.
According to some estimates, nearly 85 per cent of the Netherlands population own at least one bicycle.
Many cycle daily on the European nation’s extensive cycle paths. But unlike in B.C., where riders are required to wear helmets by law, helmets are rarely worn in the Netherlands.
-------------------------------------------------
I was there and there was a huge turn out. The 400 Dutch bikes were taken right away, so there were as many personal bikes taking part as Dutch ones.
I rode one of the Dutch bikes. It looked like this:
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/01-dutchbike.jpg
This (http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/02/a-dutch-bike-ride-in-richmond-you-can-do-it-too/) page has some pics like this,
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/03-dutchridestart.jpg
and local TV covered it.
Before the ride, there was this newscast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBKgWNXMnaY
and after the event, there was this clip:
http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html
Look for the clip titled: News Hour / stories / and at about the fifth line down, Dutch Culture Arrives
I wrote a column on it too:
Go green, go Dutch, go bike (http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/story.html?id=db6e7626-4a35-43aa-b1b2-7efa6deb8abd)
Brad Kilburn, Richmond News
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
As one of the many cultural exchanges happening during the 2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond has been supplied with 400 publicly shared bicycles to help people get around town, during the games.
On Feb. 6, Holland Heineken House, along with Dutch National Rail, supplied these distinctly Dutch bicycles for an 8-kilometre ride around Richmond to publicize their availability.
Bike culture is different in the Netherlands. As most Dutch people live close to where they work, shop and play, cycling is just a "normal" part of everyday life. Everybody rides, and most of them ride slowly, in regular clothes, whilst sitting upright on comfortable bikes. Cycling in the Netherlands is primarily a utilitarian pursuit, rather than an athletic one, as it is here. There are many segregated paths for cyclists, but contrary to popular belief, Dutch cyclists also interact with motor vehicles on a regular basis.
One of the cultural differences between our nations is the fact that Dutch cyclists are afforded a respect on the roads that, to this day, is almost unheard of here. The Dutch believe that cycling is not dangerous, but rather, motoring is. To this point, in the event of a bicycle/motor vehicle collision in Holland, the liability rests solely with the driver, unless he/she can provide adequate evidence that the damage was the fault of the bicyclist, which is quite a different situation than we have here.
Riding a bike in the Netherlands is exceptionally safe. Death and injury rates are amongst the lowest in the world. Interestingly, almost no one wears a helmet. If you've read my previous columns, you will know where I stand on bike helmet legislation, and so I find it interesting that the Netherlands, like most of the rest of the world, has no bike helmet laws, yet their safety rates remain much better than ours. I attribute this to their overall acceptance of cycling.
As the ride left Minoru Park on Saturday, I had a glimpse of what it may be like to ride in the Netherlands. Bikes were everywhere. It approached something like a polite Critical Mass. We ruled. If there's one truism that cuts across all cultural divides it's that there's safety in numbers, and there were more than a few cyclists on the road that morning.
As we started our ride, the RCMP held motorists back in order to clear our way. It was a good feeling. We sampled a variety of Richmond's bikeways; down Gilbert road past the ROO, up the **** Trail with its breathtaking view of the mountains, and on to No. 3 Road next to the new, raised bike lane under the Canada Line.
When people take advantage of this temporary bike sharing opportunity, they should keep in mind that Translink has proposed a permanent public bike-sharing plan for Vancouver. Similar to the hugely successful Paris based, Velib system, Vancouver's plan is currently stalled. Concerns over funding and our mandatory helmet law may stymie this project, but all is far from certain yet.
I'd encourage everyone to take advantage of using these bikes while they're available. They provide easy transport, alleviate traffic, improve our health, and are good for the environment to boot. Go Green. Go Dutch. Go Bike. I did.
----------------------
I hope these bikes get used. I'll be looking for them on the road.
The Dutch are supplying bikes for the public to use for free to get around during the games.
Holland Heineken House to be outfitted with bikes (http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/news/82839572.html)
http://images.travelpod.com/users/globeriders/globe_riders.1175495880.dscn0017.jpg
By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review
If Dutch beer and a selection of stamppot entrees weren’t enough, Holland Heineken House will offer visitors an even more authentic Netherlands experience.
Dutch National Railway is supplying 400 bicycles for tourists, locals and Dutch volunteers to borrow and use to tour Richmond’s sights.
“It’s for visitors who don’t have a car that want to check out Steveston for a day,” said city spokesperson Cynthia Lockrey. “Or if they want to go near the oval, they can take a bike.”
The bicycles are expected to be parked outside Holland Heineken House, which is setting up at Minoru Arenas inside the O Zone celebration site.
Lockrey said rentals will be free, but riders will be required to present identification. The city will also be providing tourists with Richmond maps.
Highlighting the promotion will be an eight-kilometre bike ride through Lulu Island Saturday, Feb. 6. Holland Heineken House staff will be joined by city staff and locals on the tour, which begins and ends at Gateway Theatre’s parking lot.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; bike ride begins at 10:45 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Those 16 and older with valid identification can register to use a Dutch bicycle by calling 604-276-4300.
“These bikes are from the Netherlands, so apparently for bike enthusiasts, it’s pretty cool to ride a European bike,” said Lockrey.
Children and others who wish to participate without registering are welcome to participate with their own bike and helmet.
According to some estimates, nearly 85 per cent of the Netherlands population own at least one bicycle.
Many cycle daily on the European nation’s extensive cycle paths. But unlike in B.C., where riders are required to wear helmets by law, helmets are rarely worn in the Netherlands.
-------------------------------------------------
I was there and there was a huge turn out. The 400 Dutch bikes were taken right away, so there were as many personal bikes taking part as Dutch ones.
I rode one of the Dutch bikes. It looked like this:
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/01-dutchbike.jpg
This (http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/02/a-dutch-bike-ride-in-richmond-you-can-do-it-too/) page has some pics like this,
http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/03-dutchridestart.jpg
and local TV covered it.
Before the ride, there was this newscast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBKgWNXMnaY
and after the event, there was this clip:
http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html
Look for the clip titled: News Hour / stories / and at about the fifth line down, Dutch Culture Arrives
I wrote a column on it too:
Go green, go Dutch, go bike (http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/story.html?id=db6e7626-4a35-43aa-b1b2-7efa6deb8abd)
Brad Kilburn, Richmond News
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
As one of the many cultural exchanges happening during the 2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond has been supplied with 400 publicly shared bicycles to help people get around town, during the games.
On Feb. 6, Holland Heineken House, along with Dutch National Rail, supplied these distinctly Dutch bicycles for an 8-kilometre ride around Richmond to publicize their availability.
Bike culture is different in the Netherlands. As most Dutch people live close to where they work, shop and play, cycling is just a "normal" part of everyday life. Everybody rides, and most of them ride slowly, in regular clothes, whilst sitting upright on comfortable bikes. Cycling in the Netherlands is primarily a utilitarian pursuit, rather than an athletic one, as it is here. There are many segregated paths for cyclists, but contrary to popular belief, Dutch cyclists also interact with motor vehicles on a regular basis.
One of the cultural differences between our nations is the fact that Dutch cyclists are afforded a respect on the roads that, to this day, is almost unheard of here. The Dutch believe that cycling is not dangerous, but rather, motoring is. To this point, in the event of a bicycle/motor vehicle collision in Holland, the liability rests solely with the driver, unless he/she can provide adequate evidence that the damage was the fault of the bicyclist, which is quite a different situation than we have here.
Riding a bike in the Netherlands is exceptionally safe. Death and injury rates are amongst the lowest in the world. Interestingly, almost no one wears a helmet. If you've read my previous columns, you will know where I stand on bike helmet legislation, and so I find it interesting that the Netherlands, like most of the rest of the world, has no bike helmet laws, yet their safety rates remain much better than ours. I attribute this to their overall acceptance of cycling.
As the ride left Minoru Park on Saturday, I had a glimpse of what it may be like to ride in the Netherlands. Bikes were everywhere. It approached something like a polite Critical Mass. We ruled. If there's one truism that cuts across all cultural divides it's that there's safety in numbers, and there were more than a few cyclists on the road that morning.
As we started our ride, the RCMP held motorists back in order to clear our way. It was a good feeling. We sampled a variety of Richmond's bikeways; down Gilbert road past the ROO, up the **** Trail with its breathtaking view of the mountains, and on to No. 3 Road next to the new, raised bike lane under the Canada Line.
When people take advantage of this temporary bike sharing opportunity, they should keep in mind that Translink has proposed a permanent public bike-sharing plan for Vancouver. Similar to the hugely successful Paris based, Velib system, Vancouver's plan is currently stalled. Concerns over funding and our mandatory helmet law may stymie this project, but all is far from certain yet.
I'd encourage everyone to take advantage of using these bikes while they're available. They provide easy transport, alleviate traffic, improve our health, and are good for the environment to boot. Go Green. Go Dutch. Go Bike. I did.
----------------------
I hope these bikes get used. I'll be looking for them on the road.